Hiatus x Hiatus
by Lirina
Summary: Gon is addicted to anti-depressants and Kurapika to her red lipstick. Killua wants to own a sweet shop and Leorio aims to be a ninja. During Hiatus season, everyone follows their dreams. However, this comes at the price of their own memories. A tragic love and money issues result in Gon finding unlikely allies as he tries to break this vicious cycle. PARODY.
1. Chapter 1

In the Hunter x Hunter world, there were two seasons, the Manga season and the Hiatus season. The latter could occur anytime of the year and its duration varied from days to months. Within this season, everyone could do as they pleased but its end, they would return back to their assigned roles for the Manga season.

Gon yawned as he watched the sea. There had been numerous Hiatus seasons before and this time, the boy had convinced everyone to go to his favourite vacation spot, an island he had appropriately named "Hiatus Island". They had just arrived and everyone was excited.

"Has anyone seen my red lipstick?", the young boy heard Kurapika asking. "By the way how do you guys like my new bikini?"

Gon was always surprised how fast Kurapika could switch from serious boy to pretty girl. "I always have to wear these old-fashioned clothes and pretend to be male-this short hair makes me look like a boy even now!" The girl looked at her reflection in the mirror. "This Hiatus season I'll let my hair grow."

"Guess what I'm gonna do this season", Leorio interrupted.

"Burn your books like you always do?", Gon offered. There was one law to the Hiatus season which only he was aware of it. At the end, everyone's memories would reset and nobody would remember anything that had happened during this time-the Manga season would simply continue where it had left off. As a result, the Hiatus seasons repeated each other with roughly the same words being said again and again.

As the protagonist, Gon was exempt from this rule and his memories dated back to the very first Hiatus season. Thus, the feeling of vacation had long left him and instead, he experienced the torture of having to live through a never-ending cycle of Hiatus seasons. He had thought about ways to end this, but there was only one conclusion: "I have to kill myself, I have to kill myself this time for sure", the black-haired boy muttered to himself.

"Oh no, he's doing it again", Killua immediately realised. "Here are your anti-depressants." The ex-assassin handed his friend a couple of pills. "Repeat after me: I am a cheerful 12-year-old boy."

"I am a cheerful 12-year-old boy", Gon repeated apathetically. While 12 years was his physical age, due to retaining the memories of the endless Hiatus seasons, his mental age was 20 years. Not that anyone would believe him though. Throughout the Manga season, he still had to pretend to be the same naive and clueless boy he had once been.

"Anyway", Leorio continued, upset that Gon had predicted his plan. "I'll burn those books and finally follow the path of the shinobi. This Hiatus season I will finally become a ninja!"

"I wanted to read those books", Killua protested.

"Didn't you want to become the owner of a sweets shop?", Kurapika asked still preoccupied with the mirror.

"Of course I want to! I want to maximise the addictive effect of sugar", Killua explained. "I'll be spending less on marketing if my customers are dependent on their sugar rush."

"Not sure if you're gonna be a vendor or a drug dealer", Leorio commented.

"I've decided on a new goal", Kurapika exclaimed ignoring her friend's conversation. "This revenge-thingy is so stressful, I'm getting wrinkles." The girl looked at her face. "I'll take over the Phantom Troupe and end this all for once."

Gon looked up. His friends' dreams were meaningless, at the start of the Manga season they would all return to their assigned roles. Whether they wanted it or not, they were slaves of the system, not even allowed to remember their holidays.

"Actually I have invited them to the island", Killua said. "They should be here already."

As the sky darkened, the Spider had made its camp at a beach near Gon and his friend's place. It was a small sandy beach surrounded by rocks, not tourist-friendly, but a bandit would like.

Kurapika marched into their camp without wasting time. "I am going to take over your group."

Slightly amused, Gon looked at the surprised faces of the Phantom Troupe. Seeing them sitting around their campfire, it was the first time he had felt a positive emotion since their first Hiatus season. "Long time no seeing", he greeted Chrollo who was sitting apart from the others. "How's it going?"

"I haven't been in a panel in ages so I'm tight on money", the gang leader gave away more information than Gon wanted.

"You charged 1,500 Jenny for each panel you appeared in", Shizuku reminded him. "So it's kinda your own fault. Feitan's really cheap, no wonder he succeeded you."

"Being cheap equals more appearances, so the end result is the same", the said Spider explained shortly.

"At least you get to negotiate your pay." Money was not Gon's favourite topic. "As the main character, I always get paid the same, whether I appear or not. And I don't get a lot cause I'm under-aged."

"Well, you're just a generic kid, anyone could do your job. You started out without any skills so I wonder why you even get any pay", Phinks replied annoyed.

"No matter how much you earn, I'm here to take over your group", Kurapika interrupted. She hadn't come to have a friendly conversation and patience wasn't her strong point. "Trying to get revenge is too stressful and not good for my skin, so let's end this here and now."

Her words were directed to Chrollo but the gang leader just pointed onto Feitan. "I'm not getting any pay so I'm not dealing with it", he explained unimpressed.

The black-haired male looked at Kurapika and Gon could see the girl wavering. Maybe it was just because she was still dressed in her bikini and the wind had gotten chilly. "Alright, you can be the leader."

Gon was surprised. The Hiatus season was a calm and peaceful time, he had never seen anything of this magnitude happening. If for some reason, his friends kept their memories, the plot would be irreparably damaged.

"You can't be serious", Machi replied in shock.

"Just because you're the new leader doesn't mean we'll follow you", Nobunaga said more calmly. "Right, Chrollo?"

However, the addressed male nodded towards Kurapika. "Follow her." His order was short, but Gon didn't fail to notice the amused undertone in his voice.

"Thank you for co-operating", the girl said, as surprised as everyone else. "Then, from tomorrow on, I will be your leader."

xxx

The next day, Gon worried about Chrollo's and Feitan's strange behaviour. Why would they let someone take over their troupe? Being unaware of the reset, the Phantom Troupe had to assume that the changes would carry over into the Manga season and completely destroy the plot. Unless... this was a plan and Kurapika had run into their trap.

"I didn't think it would be this easy", Leorio commented while throwing his books into the fire.

"This guy-he was so cool!", Kurapika reflected. "I better dress up for tomorrow!"

"Who? Chrollo?", Killua asked while trying to save the books he was interested in. "He's broke, why would you go for him?"

"I meant Feitan", the girl corrected him. "And I don't care about money."

It was a reply that Gon had foreseen. In every Hiatus season they had encountered the Phantom Troupe, those two had always fallen in love with each other. They didn't look like they would make a good couple, yet during one particularly long Hiatus season Kurapika and Feitan had even gotten engaged.

"Anyway, what are you gonna make them do?", Leorio changed the topic.

At that moment the Phantom Troupe arrived so Leorio's question was answered as Kurapika addressed them. "From now on our name is 'Eco Troupe' and our first mission will be picking up the trash from the beach."

Ignoring the Spider's response, Kurapika added, "and don't forget to recycle."

Meanwhile, Gon was looking for the two Troupe members that were missing, Chrollo and Feitan. He found them watching from afar.

"What's your plan?", he asked the tone of his voice and the expression in his eyes not fitting for a 12-year old. "Why did you guys let this happen?"

"I don't get paid for this so I don't care", Chrollo replied. "Let them do what they want."

Feitan revealed the true reason. "They won't remember."

Gon looked at the two. The plot mandated them to be enemies, yet could it be... "You know about the reset?"

"The bonus for being the leader", Feitan answered. "I regained all my memories, too."

Gon was happy someone had a worse fate them him. Being in an endless cycle of Hiatus seasons, at least he didn't start a relationship with someone who would forget about it. How many times had they started to date over and over? The fate of Chrollo was not much better: Without any Manga season appearances, the Hiatus season was all he had. "You remember being engaged?", he asked Feitan.

His reply was short as usual. "I do."

"This is why we want to find a way for everyone to retain their memories", Chrollo explained. "And to find a way for me to make money."

"We thought a disturbance big enough would break through the reset", Feitan continued. "I killed Hisoka a few times..."

"And one time we even donated all our possessions to charity", Chrollo remembered. "Yet nothing happened."

"Let's work together", Gon suggested. Having hope for the first time, his voice had regained the optimism it used to have.

However, in that moment Gon felt his body fading away, a sign that the Hiatus season was over. In a few seconds, they would all be back at the same spot they had been before the Hiatus season had started.

"We'll call ourselves 'Holiday Troupe'", Chrollo confirmed, only faintly audible.

* * *

Now I'm going feel bad for Feitan for the rest of the evening...


	2. Chapter 2

"This time, I'll finally open my sweet shop!", Killua exclaimed pointing towards a rather rundown building. It was located at the far end of the city's high street but still accessible enough for children on their way home from school. Buying the property had nearly costs him all of his savings, but surely the pocket money of sugar-addicted kids would make up for this investment.

Gon watched his friend emotionlessly. "I'm barely able to contain my excitement", he replied. The black-haired boy sighed. Another Hiatus Season had started and, as usual, nobody remembered their past holidays. At least, out of all his experiences, the 'Killua's sweet shop' themed Hiatus Seasons were one of the more interesting ones.

"By the way, I saw this hot guy early", Kurapika told her friends as the group entered the old building. The inside did not look much better than the outside, but there was everything a shop would need. "Killua, I need to borrow some money so I can buy new clothes. Blue doesn't suit me at all! And what if he sees me like this? In the manga I'm always dressed like a guy—he must think I'm a male with poor fashion sense!"

Killua was too preoccupied with drawing up a plan and didn't listen to the girl but Gon looked up. "He knows, everyone knows. Even the manga readers are suspicious, look at all these fanfictions portraying you as a girl." Kurapika's excitement likely meant that the Phantom Troupe was in the city as well, or at least Feitan with Chrollo unlikely to be far away. Maybe they could finally end the cycle of Hiatus Seasons this time.

His thoughts were interrupted by Killua, now with a to-do list in his hands. "Leorio, put those kunais away and start cooking the candy; Kurapika, you make this building look like a shop; Gon, you go shopping." It was impressive how quick the ex-assassin had adapted to his new role as candy entrepreneur, leaving little room to complain.

"Tsk, next Hiatus Season we'll search for the Village Hidden in the Leaves, you better promise." Leorio grunted but headed to the kitchen, located in the basement of the small building.

"Yes, sure", Killua answered, focused on the sheet of paper in front of him. "You can be the manager of our branch in Shrub Ville or whatever."

Gon was glad that going shopping would give him an opportunity to search for his fellow members of the Holiday Troupe, an alliance sworn to end the cycle of Hiatus Seasons. During Manga Season, their group had run into the Phantom Troupe numerous times by coincidence; hence Gon trusted in his instinct which led him through the streets with the precision of a magnet. The fact that it was still early and few people were out on the high street made his quest even easier. Thus, not far away from Killua's future sweet shop he found himself standing in front of an unassuming building. However, when Gon realised his feet had let him to a maid café, he started to doubt his instincts. But perhaps he was mistaken and the Phantom Troupe had started their own business venture?

"You better not laugh at me." Chrollo who had been preparing the Café's front garden had noted the black-haired boy. The Café must have only just opened. "You know, it's not easy if you don't have any manga appearances. Money needs to come from somewhere."

Gon didn't laugh. Chrollo looked far better than one would assume wearing a plain black dress and the typical white apron which was long enough to hide his legs. The black-haired boy briefly wondered whether Killua would hire the former leader of the Phantom Troupe. Perhaps it would make it easier to attract female customers. "Do you remember?", Gon asked focusing on his mission.

Chrollo nodded and pointed to a table not far away. Feitan was sitting there, being the only customer, and enjoying a slice of strawberry cake. "I told you being cheap earns more money", he explained simply. "Chrollo, bring a slice of cake for Gon as well."

The former leader of the Phantom Troupe smiled, his left eye visibly twitching. "Of course, Master." He vanished into the building mumbling curses.

"How's Kurapika?", Feitan asked after Gon had sat down opposite him.

The addressed boy looked at the notpad lying on the table. "Doing well", he replied. "Probably cleaning Killua's shop."

"This is our plan", Feitan pointed out after noting Gon's gazes. Written on the paper were numbers and equations that the boy could not make sense of. "We need an army of 5,944 to break the space-time continuum. We will use their life energy to build a nen-based cannon and destroy this dimension."

The black-haired boy wondered how Feitan had managed to come up with a plan during the relatively short Manga Season. Yet whether it was trustworthy, was a different question. Due to his role as carefree 10-year-old manga protagonist, Gon had never managed to attend school and Feitan's equations might as well be the scribbles of a maniac. It didn't help that the other had used long and difficult words to explain the plan. "I might have the army we'll need", Gon replied finally. It's not that the situation could get any worse by following Feitan's obscure plan. Worst case, everyone would forget what had happened like usual. "Get Chrollo, and I'll show you."

Upon arrival at their destination, Gon couldn't help but be surprised, a rare occurrence given that he had lived through everything countless times already. The run-down building Killua had bought had been painted in bright pink with little hearts and stars decorating it.

"Kurapika painted it", Killua explained as he greeted Gon and his allies outside the shop. The ex-assassin had changed into a suit and was wearing glasses in an attempt to look like a business man. His hair, however, was messy as usual and didn't quite fit. "Doesn't quite look like the headquarter of an evil candy empire, but it'll do for now. By the way, did you get the shopping done?"

Ignoring the question and knowing that his friend was already aware of their presence, Gon waved towards Chrollo and Feitan. "Chrollo here said he'd work for free if you give him food and a place to sleep. By the way, how many customers do you have?"

Killua noted that the other had ignored the question, but led the group into the building nonetheless. The inside had been painted fully in black, including the furniture. "Couldn't trust Kurapika with this", the ex-assassin explained briefly. At least, the black interior made the brightly coloured candy stand out more and drew attention to Kurapika who was standing behind the counter in a pink uniform. However, to Gon's disappointment, there were only about five customers on the shop floor.

"We have only just opened, once word gets around we'll get more customers", Killua promised noticing Gon's gaze. "Why don't you try my candy in the meantime?" He picked up a tray with samples and held it out to Gon and his Holiday Troupe.

"Why are they shaped like shuriken?", Gon asked inspecting the pieces.

Killua shrugged. "Mr ninja freak is in charge of cooking. Ah Chrollo, since you want to work here, can you go and buy more sugar? Seeing that Gon hasn't bought any."

While Killua turned to explain his plan to increase the shop's revenue, Kurapika nervously came forward. "Ehm, I made some candy too, would you like to try?", she asked Feitan in an unusually shy manner.

Feitan nodded and picked up a piece of Kurapika's heart-shaped candies. "Not bad", he commented despite not being a fan of sweets. "But this is not only sugar. There is something else."

Upon hearing the compliment, the girl blushed. "Killua said I can't tell anyone, but if you really want to know… It's caffeine." As if she hadn't just given away her friend's business secret, Kurapika continued with her usual carefree attitude. "By the way, we close at sunset, if you'd like we could… ."

"5,944 candy-addicted kids shouldn't be a problem", Killua concluded. "Chrollo will have to buy more sugar and we'll continue our candy production during the night. I'll use Leorio's money to hire more staff; I locked him in anyway so he can focus on cooking instead of finding the path of the shinobi or whatever."

"Thanks, Killua." Gon was surprised that the ex-assassin was willing to help without knowing the objective of the plan. He had always assumed that Killua only pretended to be his friend to increase his manga appearance and therefore his salary. Either way, it was time to move on to the next step of the plan: finding others who had retained their memories to help building the cannon.

"Do you remember that old guy?", Gon asked as he and Feitan walked down the high street. "You know the maniac who blew himself up? He was the Chairman of the Hunter association and I heard he had taken on a job in customer service. If nothing else, Killua can hire him. Should be cheap personnel, now that he has no manga income."

"Netero", Feitan replied. "It's reasonable to assume that he remembers. I've seen him work in the restaurant opposite the maid café that Chrollo worked in."

Somehow Gon was not surprised to find the former Chairman working at WcDonalds serving customers at the till. Money issues were widespread amongst the actors in the manga and having been declared dead by the mangaka, Netero probably didn't receive any pension.

As it was now near lunchtime, the shop was filled with hungry customers, some of them already shouting impatiently. "Do you remember the last Hiatus Season?", Gon asked after they had managed to get to the till—an endeavour that had taken them over two hours.

"Oh yes, I remember when I had still money. I threw parties and had all the girls I wanted", Netero replied slowly and prepared as he prepared a tray for Gon's order, even slower than he spoke. No wonder the queue had been long. "That's 800 Jenny please."

"We haven't ordered yet", Feitan objected. "We came to ask for your help, not to buy rubbish."

"Oh, my bad." The former chairman put away the tray and prepared another. "By the way, who are you if I may ask?"

"I'm Gon and that's Feitan. I'm not sure you two have met before." The countless Hiatus Seasons made it hard for Gon to remember what had actually happened in the manga.

"Oh I see", the former Chairman nodded. "That's 800 Jenny please."

As Netero was evidently having a different kind of memory problem, Gon and Feitan decided to give up. Upon their return to the candy shop, it was the second time Gon was surprised. Outside the shop a large queue had formed. Killua greeted him, smiling. "5,944 candy-addicted kids, doing whatever I tell them should be ready in less than a week."

However, as Gon was thinking how he could ever make this up to his friend, he felt his body fading away. Hiatus Season had come to an end. And thus, the cycle continued.


End file.
